Course Project
Overview
The
paper or project that students prepare needs to be a work of quality. The paper is to be article-length (i.e., 15
to 20 pages) and include five sections: (1) identification of the issue to be
examined (2) review of relevant literature (3) discussion of the issue (4)
conclusions/implications (5) relevant references/bibliography. The expectation is that students will not
merely summarize what others have said about the issues under examination. Rather, students are asked to look
thoughtfully, creatively, and originally at the issue so that their work makes
a professional contribution.
Students
may choose to develop a project in response to their identified issue, such as
a training curriculum, a training manual, a children’s book, a play, a fact
sheet, a short video, or a website. Students selecting the project option must
provide a theoretical justification for the content that they select in a
formal paper that is at least 10 pages in length and meets criteria related to
integration of relevant information.
Criteria
that are used in considering each paper include:
1. The clarity with which the practice or policy
issue is defined.
2. The degree to which relevant literature
(practice, policy, research) is used to place the issue in context.
3. The depth of theoretical foundation,
conceptualization and exploration of the issue.
4. The identification of the implications of the
content of the paper for practice, policy, and/or program development.
The
content of student projects has varied. In the past, for example, students have
done videotapes, written children’s books, developed poetry, and created
multimedia presentations. Projects are
to be accompanied by a paper that explains the purpose, content, and uses of
the project and that includes a relevant literature review and a bibliography.
There is a common framework for the course that is described below. Within that framework, however, there will be
some differences in structure based on the professor’s preferences and style
and the needs of the class members.
The
seminar very much benefits from the creation of a community of colleagues among
student participants. In the beginning
weeks, each student talks to the class about his/her ideas on the subject s/he
wishes to write about. Other students
ask questions and share their own experiences and thoughts related to the
idea. Thus, students stimulate each
other’s thinking on the subject. At the
end of this phase of the seminar, students are asked to develop a topic
statement that describes the subject on which they will be focusing.
Once
their idea and focus are approved, students work on their papers independently,
setting up individual meetings with the instructor as needed. Often, it is helpful for students to consult
with each other, as well, to use each other as sounding boards. In addition, the class as a whole may meet to
discuss the actual writing of the paper.
A first draft of the paper is to be submitted to the instructor at the
end of this second phase of the course (about 2/3 of the way through) at a date
to be scheduled by the professor.
In
the third and final phase of the course, during the last few weeks, each
student will present their work to the seminar class, leaving time for
questions and discussion by class members.
Making their presentation and responding to the questions and discussion
of members often demonstrates to the student the depth of expertise that they
have developed in the topic of the paper and, even more important, during the
course of their social work education.
Some papers have, in fact, been published in journals and can easily be
presented at local and national conferences.
